If law remains, Camilla will be queen

A legislation change would have to occur to bar the path to the title

LONDON - She got her man. And if he becomes king, she's entitled to the title: Queen Camilla.

Camilla Parker Bowles will automatically become Charles' queen unless the government of Britain, and 15 other countries, change the law, the government's constitutional affairs minister said Monday.

Announcing plans last month for his second marriage, Charles said his future wife would be known only by the lesser title of Princess Consort when and if he becomes king.

The idea of Parker Bowles as queen may be a step too far for much of the British public, which has come to accept the marriage but has not, as a whole, embraced the idea of Camilla in the place that would have been Princess Diana's.

There's still time, of course, for legislation in Britain and the other nations where the British monarch is head of state that would bar the path of a Queen Camilla.

Queen Elizabeth II, a robust 78, has said she does not intend to step down, and she could well reign for many more years.

Immediately after their April 8 wedding Parker Bowles will become Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall, and will not be called Princess of Wales — the title used by the late Princess Diana.

On Monday, Constitutional Affairs Minister Christopher Leslie said in a written statement responding to a lawmaker's question that the royal marriage would not be "morganatic" — in which the spouse of inferior status has no claim to the status of the other.

"This is absolutely unequivocal that she automatically becomes queen when he becomes king," said Andrew Mackinlay, the lawmaker who raised the question.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs confirmed that interpretation, saying legislation would be required to deny Parker Bowles the title of queen.

"I'm perfectly happy for the Prince of Wales to marry whoever he likes, but altering the constitution is parliament's business, and this does require an alteration to the constitution," Mackinlay said.